Accession No

3855

Brief Description

humorous booklet on the electrocardiograph, by Cambridge Instrument Company Ltd., England, 1925

Origin

England

Maker

Cambridge Instrument Company Ltd.

Class

medical; electrical; ephemera; books

Earliest Date

1925

Latest Date

1925

Inscription Date

Material

paper (two kinds)

Dimensions

height 228mm; breadth 180mm

Special Collection

Provenance

Inscription

‘Proceedings of the Egyptological Society.
A REPORT
on
THE DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT PAPYRI
IN EGYPT AND BABYLON
by
MR. CARRIER, F.O.B.
Communicated by Professor Peter Splinters, D.Sc., M.E.S.’ (title page)

Description Notes

Printed booklet; concerns the supposed discovery of a set of papyri describing an early form of electrocardiograph, produced in-house as a joke.

Condition good; incomplete (back cover is missing)

References

Events

Description
Electrocardiographs are medical instruments that measure the rhythm heart contractions and the relative strength of different parts of the heart muscle. Produced by the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company as a humorous commentary on the ‘cult’ of the electrocardiograph, this pamphlet portrays an imaginary Egyptian god RA-LALL holding an Einthoven string galvanometer (the primary apparatus of the electrocardiograph) and an electrocardiogram. The gods RO-BO and BAR-RON (referring to Company employees Robinson and S. L. Barron) fly above RA-LALL’s seated figure. The dogs and rabbits represented suggest the importance of the electrocardiograph in physiological research and alludes to RA-LALL’s enemies who embraced the cult of ANTIVIV.

06/11/2013
Created by: Allison Ksiazkiewicz on 06/11/2013

FM:40788